March 2015

Belterra Overview

The neighborhood of Belterra is a 1,600-acre community located between the town of Dripping Springs and downtown Austin. The community can be accessed by one of three different entrances: off Highway 290 West, off Nutty Brown Road and finally via Sawyer Ranch Road. There is a wide variety of builders offering fine homes (or that have built previously) in Belterra including (but not limited to) Buffington Signature Homes, Newmark, Highland Homes, Wilshire Homes, Streetman Homes, Sitterle, David Weekly Homes & Drees Homes. With 400 acres of open land, twelve parks, a recreation center and an abundance of trails, Belterra is settled around family life.

At the present time, Belterra is broken up into ten sections. There is still much

On April 16th, 2015 homebuyers could be paying more to heat their homes. That's because new water heater regulations set forth by the Department of Energy will require many existing models to be replaced or swapped out for larger more energy efficient ones. Not sure if you'll be impacted by the rule change? Read on.

New water heater regulations in 2015

After the April deadline, all new natural gas and electric powered tank-style hot water heaters will undergo design changes to meet the new requirements. Based on the new rules, all electric powered water heaters over 55 gallons will require the Hybrid Electric Heat Pump water design. On the other hand, all natural gas models over 55 gallons must use a Condensing Water Heater design. In other words,

JBGoodwin REALTORS® successfully defended the rights of real estate professionals in Texas against a suit brought on by patent troll Property Disclosure Technologies (or PDT). For those unfamiliar with patent trolls or patent holding companies, they are firms who purchase patents with the sole purpose of looking for, and suing companies in violation of those patents for financial gain. They do not produce intellectual property, nor do they conduct any original research or manufacturing. Most of their suits never make it to court, as the threat of hefty legal fees cause most defendants to settle out of court.

JBGoodwin REALTORS® VS Property Disclosure Technologies

JBGoodwin REALTORS® was sued, along with 12 other real estate industry leaders on

One of the dreaded tasks of any landlord is finding a great tenant for your rental property. Tenant screening is a critical process, and when done correctly can eliminate the majority of common bad tenant issues. Add these helpful tips to your tenant screening checklist, and find the properly qualified tenant of your dreams.

Screen over the phone

What many landlords fail to realize is that the tenant screening process starts at first contact, which is typically by phone or e-mail. Before you proceed to a showing, screen for potential red flags by getting answers to the following questions:

Name

Contact info

Reason for moving

Intended rental term

Total number of people renting, and their relationship to the potential renter (family